Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on January 23rd, 2017
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: single gals looking for love — among other things — in the big city. On television, the trope dates back to the days of Laverne & Shirley and continues with more contemporary entries like Sex and the City and Girls. It’s an effective, timeless story hook that has gotten a funny, druggy, tremendously weird spin thanks to the queens kweens of Comedy Central’s Broad City.
The stars of the show here are Abbi and Ilana (co-creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer), a pair of uncommonly attached besties living and playing in NYC. (Except for Ep. 6/“Philadelphia”, which finds the pair visiting Abbi’s suburban childhood home in Wayne, Pennsylvania.) Season 3 kicks off with a bit of literal toilet humor, as we get an amusing split-screen montage of Abbi and Ilana in their respective bathrooms.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on January 20th, 2017
I’ll say this for Vin Diesel, he always returns to a franchise. It doesn’t matter how long has passed between his introduction and his exit; you can always count on him returning and stepping back into a role regardless of how many years it’s been, like nothing has ever changed. Doesn’t matter what it is; Fast and Furious, Riddick, and now XXX: the Return of Xander Cage. For those not familiar with the franchise (though I’m sure there few people who don’t already know about the original), XXX was an action film that was released in 2002 featuring Diesel as Xander Cage, an extreme sports enthusiast who is recruited by the NSA to foil a terrorist plot, which he accomplishes with such flair that an idea is born: create a program for a group of rebels who can get close to the criminals that the government can only dream of. Thus a franchise was born. Sadly, Diesel’s involvement appeared to end with the killing off of his character in the 2005 sequel (thus making way for Ice Cube’s involvement with the franchise). However, Xander Cage has apparently returned from the grave. Now going into this film there was only one burning question plaguing me: how did Cage survive his own assassination attempt?
Though I don’t feel like my question was completely answered, I will say that that stopped mattering so much once Diesel appeared on the screen. Following the attempt on his life, Xander Cage has assumed a nomadic life, moving from place to place in order to avoid being found. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say he is keeping a low profile; I mean, he’s still Xander Cage. He has to chase the rush. He is eventually found by Marke (Toni Collette), a high-ranking government official in need of his services after a group of operatives (Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Tony Jaa, and Michael Bisping) who, like him, live life on the edge, steal a cutting-edge technology capable of turning satellites into warheads. Tasked with retrieving the technology, Xander realizes he can’t accomplish this alone and refuses help from the suits, with the exception of his new technical support liaison, Becky (Nina Dobrev), Xander recruits some young blood (Ruby Rose, Kris Wu, Rory McCann) to help him with his mission. Before long, Xander finds himself embroiled in a situation that he doesn’t fully understand but is likely to lead him down a rabbit hole that he is gonna have to use every trick in his arsenal in order to survive, and he’s loving every second of it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on January 19th, 2017
“My husband used to tell me I have an overactive imagination…”
The idea at the core of The Girl on the Train is equal parts provocative and relatable: a lonely commuter observes an attractive couple from a distance and imagines what their seemingly perfect lives must be like. Anyone who’s ever done any people-watching will recognize the appeal of inventing a backstory for a stranger, and the story is a healthy reminder that things are never quite what they seem from the outside. But despite a powerhouse lead performance, this Train is ultimately derailed by an unsatisfying mystery and a lack of flair that causes this potentially juicy story to lose steam as it chugs along.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 17th, 2017
The premise here was always dirt simple. They've taken the buddy cop idea and found a way to work in the forensics science fad and deliver a procedural with a few twists. The show is based on a series of mystery novels by Tess Gerritsen, who introduced us to Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles in 2001. Tess makes a cameo appearance in this, the show's final season. The season is shorter than the usual 18 shows. There are 13, and in all of them you can feel the weight of the characters and their situations counting down until the final episode of the series. You'll be able to see where that's going pretty much from the beginning. After seven years, you can look forward to a tearful goodbye as the show exits on its own terms.
Angie Harmon plays Detective Rizzoli. She's wanted to be a cop all of her life and is living the dream, working with a special unit out of Boston PD. Her best friend in life happens to be Dr. Maura Isles, who is the Chief Medical Examiner for the unit and is played by Sasha Alexander. These are the kind of friends who finish each other's sentences and share a lot of history together. That's not to say they are at all alike.
Posted in: Tuesday Round Up by J C on January 17th, 2017
All aboard! We’re only a hair more than two weeks into 2017, but there’s already plenty of exciting stuff going on around these parts. (For example, check out our review of one of the top-of-the-line Ultra HD Blu-ray players on the market.) Fortunately, there’s still more than enough time for you get on this UpcomingDiscs train. Speaking of which, Universal hops aboard The Girl on the Train in 4K and plays a deadly game with Death Race 2050. Fox puts its faith in The Story of God: Season 1, while Magnolia Home Entertainment counts down to Zero Days. Candy Factory delivers The Babymooners, while Warner Bros. bids farewell to Rizzoli & Isles: The Final Season. Meanwhile, Paramount returns with Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in 4K and boldly goes to Star Trek: Enterprise — The Complete Series.
But wait…there’s more! We’ve got a couple of theatrical releases we’ll be reviewing for the weekend. So be sure to check back and see if we’re lovin’ The Founder, and how we rate XXX: The Return of Xander Cage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2017
The young Ultra High Definition Blu-ray market has pretty much been a limited competition between a couple of players. Upcomingdiscs obtained an early version of the Samsung player in order to get UHD 4K reviews to our readers. The player allowed me to do that but had so many limitations that those reviews certainly suffered. The most obvious was an inability to provide codec bitrates. All of that changes now that Oppo has entered the UHD market. Oppo is no stranger to 4K. Previous models that we've reviewed here already provided rather sweet 4K upconvert options to early adopters of 4K televisions. We received our unit during the holidays, and I have been putting it through some serious paces. Needless to say this will be our go-to unit going forward. However long you think the UHD market has been out there, it truly begins with the release of the Oppo UDP-203.
Again, you get the most impressive packaging in the business. That may not seem so important to some, but I like the comfort of knowing that there was little chance my unit was damaged during the shipping process. Instead of cheap styrofoam, the unit is protected by pressure-formed solid foam. Forget that silly tissue plastic that usually covers a unit in the box. This baby comes nestled inside a canvas bag. Of course, it’s also a great advertising idea. You’ll have the handy bag to tote stuff around later. Your unit isn't going to be scratched in transport, that's for certain. The accessories come in a solid hard shell box. Inside you get: a remote + batteries and a solid HDMI cable. What does this really tell me? It tells me the company just doesn't cut corners.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2017
“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.”
35 years, to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spinoff from the original 1960’s hopeful series. The Earth is finally ready to send its first starship to explore the vast galaxy. This first starship Enterprise is smaller than the ships we’ve become used to. There are no shields or photon torpedoes. The transporter has only been cleared for inanimate objects. Not that this stands in the way of its occasional “emergency” use. The ship is very much like the cramped spaces of today's submarines. It adds an even greater sense of reality to the show. The crew is composed of Captain Jonathan Archer (Bakula), First Officer and Vulcan High Command liaison, T’Pol (Blalock), Chief Engineer Charles (Trip) Tucker (Trinneer), Tactical Officer Malcolm Reed (Keating), Denobulan Dr. Phlox (Billingsley), Pilot Travis Mayweather (Montgomery) and Linguist/Communications Officer Hoshi Sato (Park).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 16th, 2017
It would seem as though Ben Affleck is finally starting to shed the stigma of doing bad films. He’s been on a roll since he took on the role of George Reeves in Hollywoodland and has also in the process become an accomplished director. When the trailer first dropped for The Accountant, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as you look at the laundry list of talent that fills the cast, it quickly became a film I had my eye on. What is surprising is despite there being franchises that seem to cover the same territory i.e.: Jack Reacher and the Jason Bourne films, is there room for another lone-wolf killing machine film? Before going into this it was a question that bothered me; heck, I’m already burnt out of the Jason Bourne films, and with a new Jack Reacher film on the horizon, the saturation is noticeable. But thankfully, The Accountant doesn’t just come out swinging but exceeded all expectations and has raised the bar for this brand of action film.
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is, as the title would lead you to believe, an accountant. He runs his own firm and is exceedingly good at what he does when it comes to solving accounting problems people may have. He’s exceptional at solving problems, and what makes this all the more impressive is he does all of this as a high-functioning autistic. This may be one of the first times I’ve seen a character with a disability on screen, but not once is it ever played as a way to sway sympathy; instead, it’s just another layer to this character. We see the everyday hell Wolff goes through, but we also see how far he’s come from his childhood after his mother gives up hope and abandons her family.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Dan Holland on January 16th, 2017
When a movie makes a bold claim such as being “a tour de force murder flick that defies classification,” it is inviting a hefty amount of preconceived criticisms prior to anyone actually viewing the film. It’s like titling a horror film This Will Scare You. Naturally, your first thought would be something along the lines of “Yeah, whatever, movie.” Needless to say, that want to criticize burns within you until you watch it. Then, with all the satisfaction in the world, you get to say “No, that wasn’t scary at all.” In the end, you are stuck with a movie that wasn’t what it promised to be, but realistically, you knew that would be the case anyway. It is a cheap marketing ploy that entices you to watch for all the wrong reasons.
On the surface, The Orphan Killer has a lot more in common with the Halloween franchise than it realizes. A homicidal maniac churns out an impressive body count in an attempt to destroy his own bloodline. The only difference is the plot of The Orphan Killer is anchored down to a Catholic orphanage, where the killer grew up. So in terms of being a film that “defies classification,” I would argue that is an objectively erroneous statement. It is a horror film, a slasher specifically, that uses a little more blood than its competition.
Posted in: The Reel World by J C on January 13th, 2017
Too soon? That’s a question filmmakers looking to tackle a real-life tragedy from the recent past must ask themselves. The past several months have nevertheless brought us a mini-run of movies based on true calamities. Clint Eastwood’s Sully used the “Miracle on the Hudson” to explore the nature (and context) of heroism. Peter Berg’s Deepwater Horizon painstakingly chronicled the events that led to the famous oil rig disaster on the Gulf of Mexico. But the best movie of that bunch is Patriots Day, Berg’s visceral, all-encompassing, and thrilling account of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
Patriots’ Day is a state holiday that commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution, and it is most closely associated with Massachusetts. The Boston Red Sox play a morning game at home, and (more famously) the city hosts the Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual event of its kind. The film’s surprisingly humorous opening scene takes place on the eve of the big day and introduces us to Boston P.D. Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), who is stuck in the department’s doghouse for some unspecified reason. Part of Tommy’s punishment is being forced to work near the marathon’s finish line the following day.
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